Discuss Some Luck by Jane Smiley:Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

Created: 10/26/14

Replies: 16

Posted Oct. 26, 2014
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bonnieb

Join Date: 09/11/11

Posts: 123

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Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I did not like this book at all. I felt like the vignettes were very short character studies that held no depth. The chapters flitted from one thing to another without giving the situations their just due. I expected a lot more from this author.

Posted Oct. 26, 2014
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Tired Bookreader

Join Date: 08/19/11

Posts: 98

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RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

The book had moments of interest; however, the story has been underwhelming. If nothing much is happening in your life, perhaps it's not a great idea to waste paper on it.

Posted Oct. 26, 2014
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bonnieb

Join Date: 09/11/11

Posts: 123

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RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I agree with you. The novel was underwhelming, to say the least.

Posted Oct. 27, 2014
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donnac

Join Date: 03/26/14

Posts: 132

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RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I really liked Some Luck a lot. I have never read a book by Jane Smiley before and I look forward to the next. I thought the structure flowed very organically, naturally, the way life happens. Consequently, my interest never flagged. There is no over the top drama, no long descriptive passages. But neither the plot nor character development suffered from their absence. Indeed, I felt I knew these people. Maybe it has to do with my Midwest roots but these characters felt authentic to me. I am recommending the book to friends.

Posted Oct. 27, 2014
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michelen

Join Date: 08/13/13

Posts: 4

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I have mixed feelings. I struggled to get into the book, and then found around the 1930s, it got interesting. Then struggled to finish (as in just today!). I like the short chapters of one year each but thought there were parts that didn't add to the story. While I liked reading about the relationship -- or lack thereof -- between Joey and Minnie, the parts about her mother bored me.

Posted Oct. 27, 2014
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Krystal

Join Date: 08/14/14

Posts: 6

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I liked it but I do think it took a little to get started. As the children got older and the characters developed more, my interest grew.

Posted Oct. 27, 2014
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kathrinc

Join Date: 04/14/11

Posts: 1

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I liked Some Luck very much once I got into it. I've been a fan of Jane Smiley for years. She always surprises me with new explorations in her writing. This time I took her invitation to enter into this early twentieth century Iowan family's life and see the world from each character's individual viewpoint - including viewpoints seen from small baby eyes! I look forward to her next volume of this trilogy, though I confess, by the time it comes out I'll have to read this one again.

Posted Oct. 27, 2014
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susiej

Join Date: 10/15/14

Posts: 184

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RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

Jane Smile's A Thousand Acres has always been one if my favorite books so I was excited to read this. Initially I had the same reaction to the book as many who have already written here - I had trouble getting into it, found the chapters limiting and seemingly lacking in development, and the characters incomplete. I didn't feel that Smiley gave us enough to truly sustain interest. Once I finished, however, I started to think about the trilogy idea and began to think about all that is yet to come. If she is covering 100 years - with one year a chapter - one book might be too big or too long, so perhaps the three book idea makes sense. I think there must be a LOT to come that will make book one more important after the fact. However, I do wonder if the structure she set out for the book has not weakened its power and if it may not have been a more compelling work if she had abandoned the structure and simply told her story all in one swoop. We can and do read lengthy novels here in America!

Posted Oct. 29, 2014
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nancyh

Join Date: 06/25/13

Posts: 186

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RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I liked this book very much. The idea of having each chapter one year was good. There were, however, times when I would have liked more information about certain characters. I am looking forward to reading the continuations.

Posted Oct. 30, 2014
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maryf

Join Date: 08/26/11

Posts: 2

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

What I loved about this book was the way that Jane Smiley developed her characters. I was in love with this book right from the start. I loved the description of what the kids were thinking as babies. I thought that was quite a unique perspective. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Posted Nov. 03, 2014
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harriettek

Join Date: 10/19/10

Posts: 34

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I started "Some Luck" with great anticipation, because, after "A Thousand Acres", I had been disappointed with Smiley's later offerings. It took me a while to get the rhythm of her narrative, but once I did I enjoyed it somewhat. There is no real tension, but her development of the characters was excellent. I do like to hear different voices in a story. She particularly got the flavors of the different times, especially the prejudices of the time and place. The scenes of war and Frank's reactions were particularly good. All in all, it was a nice, if not great read......will I read the subsequent two offerings of her trilogy? Probably not.

Posted Nov. 04, 2014
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susank

Join Date: 06/28/11

Posts: 17

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I really wanted to like it; it was the type of novel I often look for, but it fell flat, little by little. The most memorable part of the book, for me, were little Frank's impressions of his world as a baby. Too many characters, with too little development of them - they felt, in the end, like cardboard cutouts of people. It seemed like the author was rushing through a timeline to finish the book, with events more important the the lives of the characters in the story.

Posted Nov. 07, 2014
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CheriFaith

Join Date: 10/06/14

Posts: 37

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

Well, as I said earlier, I liked it but was not in love at all - and I really didn't know how to describe what I was feeling and thinking until I read Paul Elie's review of it from the New York Times Book Review from today. He said, "...her ease with the material makes it feel less than original or necessary. Rarely does she pause to let a scene develop or allow a character to slip the harness of the trilogy with its carefully worked-out plan. Instead, she moves these people through stock situations or has them tread through events flattened by the steady press of the fictional machinery." He summed up my feelings exactly! Thank you, Mr. Elie!

Posted Nov. 12, 2014
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andreab

Join Date: 07/29/14

Posts: 101

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RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I really enjoyed the book once I read about a third of it. I didn't feel a connection with the characters until then. Once I became more invested in the characters, I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to each of them. Because there was no great complexity to the plot, the book was like taking a walk on a Sunday afternoon without any stress or expectations.

Posted Dec. 04, 2014
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darcyc

Join Date: 02/16/12

Posts: 2

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I was so excited to get this book because of how her other books made me feel. When reading it -- which I did like -- I was disappointed (and very surprised) that my interest flagged in several parts of the book. I made sure I read the book in long sittings so I didn't exacerbate my lack-of-interest. I didn't feel the warm feelings, as I did with her other books.

Posted Dec. 06, 2014
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ssh

Join Date: 02/04/14

Posts: 9

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I put this book aside awhile before finishing. Just could not feel engaged, even after a break. Would not recommend to any booklovers I know.

Posted Dec. 06, 2014
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dianed

Join Date: 09/14/11

Posts: 14

RE: Overall, what were your feelings about the book. Did you like it?

I didn't like the idea that a baby would have thoughts like Frank, supposedly, did. As I read the book, I became even more disappointed in it, and I think I'll have to try to read it again, when I have more time. I skipped some chapters, but that didn't help, either. Of course, that may be why the book couldn't keep my attention. Others have said it got more interesting about the time I was getting less interested, which is why I will try to read it again.